This is me (Sarhn) ~ being open, honest and accountable on my quest to live sustainably….

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Proud to now buy 100% Recycled Reflex Paper

News Update 14.6.11 ** I have decided to support the Wilderness Society pledge to NOT BUY Reflex paper until it’s produces Australian Paper stops sourcing from Native forests on all there other products.

What is really important to say about that original post, is that it took me months to research. Information about what percentages Reflex used of post consumer / pre consumer fibre and if Reflex used chlorine bleaching was not easily found on any of their packaging or website.

I emailed Reflex a link to that post to gage a response but never heard back (I can give them the benefit of the doubt that the email may of got lost in cyber space). So as that post states, the information was gained from other websites (links where supplied on the post).

It shouldn’t be that hard for a concerned consumer to source information from a company about their products!

Today I did a Google search using the key words ‘Reflex 100% recycled paper’ and noticed that in the top three search results was a fact sheet written by Reflex about their 100% recycled paper. Interesting my original post on this subject is also on the front page of the Google search results.

However I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t actually find the fact sheet on Reflex’s website.

* No use of chlorine or chlorine compounds are used for further bleaching of the de-ink pulp.

Based on this information I am really thrilled to say that I will buy Reflex 100% Recycled Paper. But why Reflex is this information only coming out now and why is it still hard to source this information from your website? Also, my accountant when talking to me today mentioned Reflex 100% Recycled Paper’s packaging does not state that the paper is from post consumer waste.

Come on Reflex make it easy for your customer’s to find this information. It is great information and I am thrilled about it!

I was actually chatting with some guys from the Australian Wilderness Society in NSW on the weekend about this very issue. Looking at the pamphlet that they gave me on environmental copy paper, there is one option for coloured recycled paper that they suggest.

Fuji Xerox Recycled Supreme paper – comes in white plus it comes in five pastel colours as well. The Wilderness Society believe that even though this paper is made overseas, the carbon footprint of transportation to Australia is less than that of logging forests.

At Eco Office Supplies we are not aware of any recycled coloured paper. Very interested to hear others’ suggestions about the most sustainable brand for coloured paper currently available in Australia.

I was recently told by a colleague that Reflex paper is not a very sustainable brand and we realised that the office does purchase our coloured paper from Reflex. And I’m quite sure their coloured paper is not made from recycled paper..

You seem to have done lots of research about paper and I was wondering if you might have a suggestion about which brand of coloured paper might be better to buy as I would like to help make the office a more sustainable environment.

I think the recycled copy paper issue is being hotly debated at the moment because the Wilderness Society is asking people (and organisations) to sign a pledge to boycott the Reflex brand. http://www.ethicalpaper.com.au

Australian Office, the company that makes Reflex, also produce the Tudor Eco range of 100% PC recycled stationery. Sadly some of the Tudor Eco product range that were previously made in South Australia, are now made in Malaysia.

I wonder if Australians boycott the Reflex brand, whether The Nippon Paper Group will take the manufacture of Reflex copy paper offshore as well?
The consequences would have a huge impact here in Australia – and could result in job losses, waste paper ending up in landfill, and having to increase the amount of recycled paper we import with it’s associated carbon kilometres.

Like you, I am open to other Australian made (and preferably Australian owned) white, 100% post-consumer recycled papers… but right now in 2011 there is only one available… Reflex 100% Recycled!

Thanks for your comment. I understand your thoughts and have found myself weighing this argument to attain what is best for me to do.

Ultimately you have to follow your own convictions.

As I mentioned in my comment to Heather, I wrote this post over two years ago and haven’t checked recently on Reflex 100% recycled paper. Perhaps I need to revisit this again.

For me however I will continue to buy Reflex 100% recycled because I want to support an Australian made paper which uses post consumed paper. I believe ‘money talks’ and the purchase of this paper speaks to Reflex about what their market wants.

I am however always open to other Australian made (and preferably owned) papers which are even better for the environment.

As the founding director of Australia’s first green office supply store, I am aware of the campaign to boycott REFLEX paper.

Given the controversy surrounding this brand, Eco Office deliberated long and hard before we adopted the ‘Reflex 100% Recycled’ copy paper into our “green” product mix.

Although I am passionate about the environment, I personally don’t think boycotting the entire range of REFLEX paper is the solution.

Australian Office is the only Australian manufacturer of 100% post consumer recycled copy paper; and also manufacturers the entire Tudor Eco product range which are unbleached 100% PC recycled stationery and 100% Australian made.

For this reason, I don’t want to send them broke… or we won’t have these great sustainable office supplies any more, and will have to resort to imported options that chew up more carbon kilometres.

Eco Office only stocks and supports their “green” recycled product range. Our goal is to send a clear message to their bottom line that virgin pulp product sales are taking a dive, and recycled paper products are in hot demand. Money talks, and I believe every purchasing dollar is a vote for the change we wish to see in the world.

Naturally, we do not support the logging and woodchipping associated with Reflex’s Maryvale Mill operations and do not stock any of their virgin fibre products. However, importing post-consumer waste (or even tree-free) paper products does not resolve what to do with our own paper waste generated here in Australia.

At Eco Office we genuinely want Australian-made post-consumer recycled products to be in high demand to ensure that manufacturers steer away from wood chipping our native forests and switch their focus to using plantation wood fibre and converting Australian’s recycling efforts into new products – thereby diverting our waste paper from Australian landfills. Buying Australian-made paper “closes this sustainable loop”; provides jobs for Australians; and reduces the “carbon miles” associated with the transport of imported paper.

Activists play an important role in facilitating wide spread awareness and acceptance of environmental issues. I believe we each have our role to play.

What about what the brand Reflex is doing to our native forests?? Is it not like buying a lollipop from Monsanto? Even if it was true that Reflex is 100% post consumer recycled, I wouldn’t buy it because they still make the normal Reflex from Australia’s native forests.

Hoorah!!…… Reflex looks as if they finally uploaded their facts sheet to the website in a place that is easy to find! 18 months ago when I wrote this post, you almost needed to be a private investigator to find the facts.

I am with you about really hating company green washing their services and or products.

I still think Evolve paper which I was using is excellent but have decided to support Reflex 100% recycable now because I know that it uses 100% post consumerable fibre and not chlorine bleaching and becasue it is Australian made.